


Last First Kiss

by SansThePacifist



Series: Naruto Stories [19]
Category: Naruto, Naruto Shippuden
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Anko and Rin are matchmakers, Anko is cackling, Awkwardness, Birthday Party, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Denial of Feelings, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Gifts, Guilt, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Lord help these boys, M/M, Matchmaking, Minato Tries, Missions, Missions Gone Wrong, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Other, Pack Dynamics, Romance, Romantic Soulmates, Sarcasm, Slow Burn, Some angst, Team Minato-centric, This took 6 months and im actually v proud, Unreliable Narrator, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Violence, escaping the hospital, i also tried for humor, i tried for fluff, it gets there, kakashis guilt complex, long story, many times, moral of the story is that kakashi and obito are both disasters, this is very gay, you are going to face palm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 07:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17240483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansThePacifist/pseuds/SansThePacifist
Summary: Kakashi rose an unimpressed brow at the blob of blue on the floor. “Sorry I’m late!” Not impressed. At all. His eye twitched, how does one even get an hour late to a meeting set a week ahead?“You’re late,again.What’s your excuse this time?” Obito sputtered before huffing.“My alarm went off late and while on the way here, I saw an old lady who needed help!”“Liar.” The Uchiha frowned, bristling like a cat.“It’s not a lie! It really happened!” Minato-sensei sighed as the two devolved into bickering. Would theyeverget along?...Probably not.





	Last First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on this for six months. Enjoy!

No matter _what_ she said, Kakashi was _not_ his soulmate. Nope. Nuh uh. Nada. Zip. No. There was no way they would be meant for each other. No way! They’re complete opposites as well, so like, haha. No. He gave her a _look_ . “Everyone tells me I’m late, Rin.” Oh sage. Who knew she could glare? He certainly didn’t. What the hell. “..Especially you..?” He had tried to climb out of whatever hole he dug but _whoops_ \- Hah.. Her glare only intensified. Fuck.  
“I give up,” She groaned, throwing her hands up into the air. “I give up!” Huh. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen her like that before. Weird.

 

“Kakashi-kun!” He frowned.

“What. You’re interrupting my training.” She smiled sweetly.

“Can I see your soul mark?” His frown intensified.

“No.”

“Why not? Do you know who it is?”

“No.”

“ _Please_ , Kakashi-kun?”

“ _No_.”

 

Kakashi rose an unimpressed brow at the blob of blue on the floor. “Sorry I’m late!” Not impressed. At all. His eye twitched, how does one even get an hour late to a meeting set a _week_ ahead?

“You’re late, _again_. What’s your excuse this time?” Obito sputtered before huffing.

“My alarm went off late and while on the way here, I saw an old lady who needed help!”

“Liar.” The Uchiha frowned, bristling like a cat.

“It’s not a lie! It really happened!” Minato-sensei sighed as the two devolved into bickering. Would they _ever_ get along?

...Probably not.

 

Rin rolled her eyes, “ _Obito_ , you’re late.” The Uchiha grinned victoriously, as if she just proved a point, and her eyes narrowed. Fine. Challenge accepted. Kakashi scoffed.

“Loser.” Obito squawked before rushing towards Kakashi and attempting to punch. And so they fought, once more, like cat and dog.

“..They can’t be that oblivious, right? _Right?_ ” _Poor sensei,_ Rin mused, _He has no idea._

 

“What did you want, sensei?” Minato gave a smile.

“Hello, Kakashi-kun! What are you doing here?” The chunin gave a dry look. Ah.. Whoops. He sweat dropped.

“You called for me.” He laughed nervously.

“Yeah, I did.” There was a long silence.

“If you are not going to say anything, I am leaving.”

“Wait- Wait! Okay! I was going to talk with you about Obito.”

“..What about him?” Minato made a hand motion.

“Do you feel anything around him?” Kakashi rose a brow.

“Annoyance.”

“No! Anything _special_.” The Hatake seemed to think for a little while before-

“The need to strangle him?” Okay, nope. The teacher sighed.

 

“You guys are totally in love.” Obito dropped his dango stick, turning towards Anko in absolute horror. _Not her too..!_

“No. We are not.” She cackled loudly.

“Yeah,” She laughed, “And I’m a dainty little princess. Suck it up, shorty.” His face scrunched up at the mental image.

“Why does everyone think that anyways?” He was so done with it. “Bakashi’s a jerk!”

“You two do this thing,” Cue excessive hand motions that no one could really ever understand, “Where you look at each other and everyone in a mile radius can _feel_ the tension.”

“That’s our rivalry.” He retorts.

“Rivalry my ass!” She crows, looking far too pleased with herself. “You two look ready to _pounce_ !” He did _not_ need to know that. Man, he _really_ needs better friends. Ones that _aren’t_ constantly trying to set him up with someone he doesn’t even want to look at, of course. He glared at her before getting more dango. He sticks his tongue out at her, much to her amusement, before eating. That image of a fragile Anko in a dress and her laughter shall haunt his dreams.

 

“Rin!” He shouts. Said girl paused before looking at him. “What did you _do_? Everyone seems to think that idiot and I are in love!”

“Oh,” She blinked innocently, fluttering her eyelashes. “You aren’t?” He wanted to scream.

 

Kakashi had always been quite disappointed in that soul mark of his, he often found himself wanting to tear it off and act like soulmates never existed. _“Sorry I’m late,_ ” It said, the scrawl tilted unconventionally and letters all connected- hurried. He refused to have such a useless soulmate that the thing they say the most to him is _“Sorry I’m late._ ” He adamantly refuses. So, when he gets stuck on a team with the dead last and some girl he thinks he might remember, he thought it was a coincidence that Obito would come, at least half an hour behind with a ludicrous excuse on hand, and shout “Sorry I’m late!”

That was, until, he noticed that it happened every. Single. Day. The horror that came with realizing that he, of all people in the _world_ , was his supposed soulmate was petrifying. He was stuck with an idiot. He was supposed to be stuck with said idiot _forever_ . Did he mention that Obito was an _idiot?_

He was _not_ happy. ~~So, he made Obito’s life suck. No one ever accused Kakashi of not being petty, after all.~~

 

“You’re late.” Obito didn’t reply to him, oddly enough, and instead looked towards Rin, which made his eye twitch. He did not like being ignored, thank you very much.

“Sorry I’m late!” He took discreet amusement out of the way Rin didn’t reply to the Uchiha and instead watched the clouds. Served him right.

 

He has seen what she has done and does _not_ like it. So far, she’s told people that her male teammates (Kakashi and Obito) are in love with each other. She’s stopped saying “You’re late,” no doubt to spite him. ~~He’s still not quite sure what he did.~~ She’s even hinted at setting up a date for the two. A date! All the while Kakashi seems to be ignoring any sign of her work.

He was not- _not_ letting her get away with making everyone think that!

 

“Hey,” He doesn’t know that person. Why are they talking to him? “Are you together with Obito?” He blinked.

“What?”

“Together.” _What._ That didn’t clear anything up. At all. The person paused before looking concerned, “You _are_ Kakashi, right?” Really? Who else would he be? Is there someone else walking around with a facemask and white hair?

“..Yes. I am.”

“And you’re together with Obito?” He gave a look to the person.

“Of course, we are on the same squad.”

“But aren’t you soulmates?” He rose a brow. Who told them? How did they find out?

“Where did you get that idea?”

“Ah..” And the person left without giving an answer. He-... He decided not to think about that interaction too much.

 

Rin is observant, she always had been, far more observant than her fellow peers. To be a medic, you _had_ to be observant or risk the life of your patient. Still, she was great at noticing things. Especially things that might be symptoms of an illness or injury. Like flushing, which could be a symptom of fever or cold, or perhaps clammy palms, a symptom of _many_ things.

At first, she had thought that maybe Obito was sick when he got so flustered. But, after a few months of observation and mother hen-ing him, she had noticed that it had happened more often when he was around Kakashi. _How silly,_ she had thought, _why does Kakashi make him so red?_

It took another month to find out, rather late in this world of soulmates, that he had a crush.

Even in a world where you have someone cut out and made _for_ you, or at least that is what is believed they are, it is often that someone falls in love with their soulmate before they know it is them. Sometimes, though it was rarer than the before mentioned, others fall in love with someone other than their soulmate before, or even- which is rather scandalously, really- _after,_ finding their meant to be. It is one of many great taboos, however, to mention it to a group of civilians and-or the one being crushed on. There was never really a law against it, but calling out someone's crush, without proof that they were whats is said they are, could be life shattering. Civillains tend to be far more conservative than shinobi, especially _active_ _duty_ shinobi, and if one is from a civilian family, or if civilians play an active role in their life, it could make it much harder to be friends with any of them.

Though, the probabilities of Kakashi _not_ being his soulmate, especially with how well they compliment each other, was rather low in accordance to her calculations. Even lower when she realized that Obito had the words that Kakashi said, often enough, on his wrist. He was an idiot though, refused to so much as acknowledge the fact that they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Her idiot of a best friend was, well… An idiot.

 

He still refused to believe what Rin said. Firstly, he’s not in love with Kakashi. Secondly, Kakashi is a jerk. Thirdly, why, out of all people in the world, would that jerkface be his soulmate? Lastly, there are still a lot of people out there who say, _“You’re late,_ ” to him a lot. Though, not as much as… Anyways. He’s not in love with Kakashi. That’s the end of it. No more to be said on the matter.

 

As it just so happens, Kakashi didn’t think much into the whole ‘soulmate’ thing in general. Really, the most that came to mind was, _“Oh no, I have to spend the rest of forever with someone._ ” His mind didn’t even go to the _possibilities_ of romance, of all things. He.. Felt incredibly stupid. It was so _glaringly_ obvious. All the people who have found their soulmate, that he knows at least, have been together. In a relationship. _Dating._ To be fair, though, he’s never been quite good at picking up social hints in general. He was glad that it didn’t take another ten or so years to find out. ~~Even if he _didn’t_ find out and was actually told. No one needed to know that.~~

..At least that one person made more sense. Kinda.

 

...Okay, so maybe Obito liked Kakashi a _wee_ little bit. But! That did _not_ make him his soulmate. Plus, he said like, not love. _Like._ There is a huge difference. A big difference _that everybody keeps overlooking._ Seriously, how does fighting all the time translate to being in love with him? That makes no sense.

 

“Obito,” Sensei was approaching a topic cautiously, which, honestly, made him kind of scared to find out what he wanted. “Do you feel anything towards Kakashi?” Sage, not him too.

“ _Sensei,_ ” He stressed, his face deathly pale, “ _No._ ”

 

He needs new friends. New better friends that don’t cackle at him and then try to set him up on a date. Like Asuma, for example. He would be nice. Except, Asuma is friends with Kakashi and that would mean talking to the bastard who everyone keeps trying to set him up with. It would be counterproductive, really. Who knew, maybe Asuma would turn into another Anko, he shivered involuntarily at the thought, if he spent too long around the two. Hahaha… Now wasn’t _that_ a horrifying thought?

He decided, grumpily, to stick to his small group of people.

 

“Do you know what dating is, Kakashi-kun?” The silver haired Chunin paused before nodding.

“They kiss and...” He made a vague gesture, “Stuff.” That was… A strangely cute answer. Quite unexpected. Either way, Minato smiled.  
“Do you know _why_ people date?” Kakashi’s brow twitched.

“Sensei, I do not believe the subject of dating is imperative to my training.” The teacher sweat dropped.

“Maa.. Kakashi-kun, humor me.” The prodigy gave a bland look before responding.

“They get together because they want to be.” He wasn’t exactly _wrong_.

“And why do they want to be?” Kakashi was not impressed.

“Because of emotions, can we get onto training now?” Really wasn’t the answer he was looking for, but alright. He knew he wouldn’t get any more out of the Hatake.

 

 _Her boys,_ Rin thought, _are terribly dense._ Obito couldn’t tell that he practically stares at Kakashi all day, his cheeks dusted light pink, and Kakashi was… Kakashi was something else. He sneaks glances at the Uchiha and seems to get a mischievous glint in his eyes when he’s late. He leans a little too much when Obito helps him, begrudgingly, up. Sometimes, _sometimes_ , he even tilts his head a certain way in response to a question, as if he was directing his full attention. They’re in love with each other, it was obvious, but they both refused to let themselves. She’s actually semi-convinced he doesn’t know _how_ it feels like to love someone else. Which, really, is sad but he’s got Obito. Obito of all people might probably, maybe, slightly open up the walls around the Hatake’s heart.

...Hopefully. She’s not going to count on it but she really, really does hope.

 

They were fighting again which wasn’t all that surprising but.. They were doing pretty good for a little while, there. Shame. She sighed, patting her teacher on the back. “Don’t worry about it, sensei.” He chuckled nervously, scratching at the back of his neck, “If you do, your hair will turn gray before you’re thirty.”

“I’m not that worried,” He said, looking far more guilty than he should. Liar. Anyone would be worried at the way the two were acting. She let her face say it all. He ducked his head.

 

It took another few months of their pining before sweet, _patient_ Rin got tired of it. She stared at the two, plotting carefully, before she smiled brilliantly. Perfect! That might just work.

 

He might of accidentally just convinced his best friend that he’s an idiot. Not that he knew _what_ he did- But still, she had that _look._ You know, the look people give you when they’re ready to patronize you because you’re too stupid or young to realize something. Which, really, was absolute bullshit since he’s a _shinobi_ and _shinobi_ are legal adults. Legally, he isn’t too young for anything except maybe something bequeathed to him from a will ~~which he was pretty sure he didn’t have any aimed at him, and even if he did, Rin wouldn’t know about it.~~  He narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled sweetly before patting him on the shoulder.

For some reason, his stomach dropped.

 

She shoved them together. She took the time to think things through, planned a way to get them at the exact spots she wanted them to be, then pushed them together into a kiss. She pushed _Kakashi_ and _Obito_ into a _kiss._ He wasn’t quite sure whether he should be impressed with the effort it must have taken or annoyed. He went with annoyed. Far beyond annoyed actually, he was _pissed._ He at least always had his mask on, though. It made it a little bit easier to convince himself to _not_ kill her. After all, he tried, he does need her to heal his wounds if he gets hurt.

Yeah... No.

He glared daggers at her while Obito hacked his insides into a bush. _Man, if looks could kill,_ she mused happily, _he would be all set._ She wasn’t _that_ surprised when he lunged at her with a kunai gripped dangerously and the intent to maim, in the very least, but it was terrifying enough to make her run.

 

What. The. Fuck.

Obito was not happy, not at all. Rin, the person he trusted the most, the purest, an angel among comrades, had betrayed him. She was happy with it as well, smiling innocently as he glared at her. “Why Obito-kun,” She practically purred. “You have been staring for quite a while, are you going to thank me?” He flushed.

“T- _thank_ you? Why would I do that?” She looked positively _affronted._

“You enjoyed the kiss, didn’t you?” His face was tomato red.

“I-I _what?_ No!” Her brow arched and he started to sweat bullets. Okay, so maybe he did like the kiss just a _little_ bit but- but that did _not_ mean he was in love with him. Her eyes sparkled, that grin of hers widening, and he realized, belatedly, that he _really_ needs to work on not spilling everything he is thinking. She wiggled her eyebrows at him and he did the best thing he could think of. He ran. _“I am not,_ ” He screamed, _“In love with Bakashi!_ ” He could hear her laughter from across the village.

 

He didn’t know why he thought that going to Anko would be a good idea. He was sure it was something along the lines of “Friends = Comfort” which is not what Anko is good at. If anything, she’s good at making one feel worse. Brilliant at it, actually. She was… Probably not the best idea to have gone with because as soon as he sat down next to her, she looked at him and then burst into laughter. _Not. Comforting._

So he flushed angrily, stole one of her sticks of dango, stuck out his tongue, and ran. Again.

 

He flopped down at the base of a tree, arms crossed, and huffed. He was _not_ pouting, really. He was far above pouting, of all things. It wasn’t like he was embarrassed or anything. Nope. He covered his face with his hands. Not at all. He just stayed like that for a while, not willing himself to get up. Stupid Rin and her stupid plans.. Stupid Anko and her _stupider_ laugh..

“What are you doing here?” A familiar voice asked and- _sage,_ was it too much to ask for some time alone? Away from the people that make him question sanity? He sighed and uncovered his face, looking up.

“Training?” He offered weakly. Kakashi was not impressed, it showed. His eye twitched before he scoffed.

“You’ve been lying there for the past few minutes. Besides, you are not nearly drained enough to be resting from training.” Obito blinked, his cheeks feeling a little too warm. What. Was that like.. Nevermind, he didn’t want to go down that road. Man, his friends were really messing with his head.

“You really know your stuff, don’t you?” The Hatake sniffed, not quite sure if that was a compliment or an insult. He took it as a compliment.

“Of course I do. I need to know your limits to keep you-” Safe. “-from jeopardising the mission.” Obito squawked.  

“I _do_ know how to do missions, Bakashi!” The Hatake snorted.

 

He flopped back onto his bed, turned over, and screamed into his pillow. Was it just him or was Kakashi actually somewhat nice to him? What the hell? He must be going insane or something. There was no way, whatsoever, that Mr. Stick-up-his-butt would be nice to him, the dead last. Plus they were fighting, kind of. There was a knock at his door and he groaned. Maybe he should be less happy that Kakashi actually _paid attention_ to him and angry with the fact that he can’t seem to get time to set his head straight. His friends aren’t really all that helpful, seeing as they keep making jokes at his expense, and every time he thinks he’s alone someone pops up and offers cookies ~~or some mighty terrible advice.~~ He gave a smile to his grandma and took one of the pastries. “Thanks,” He chirped, feeling a bit better now that he has some sugar on hand.

Jerks, the lot of them.

 

He twirled a kunai sloppily, his mind elsewhere. Kakashi looked just about the same as usual, but.. Was it just him or did his eyes seem lighter? Why was he paying attention to that jerks eyes, anyways?  They aren’t all that special. They’re just dark. Really dark. How bright would they get when he’s happy? What would it be like to see him smile, does he even know _how_ to? How would it feel to finally be put under the spotlight, to have Kakashi smile at him. Or laugh. What would his laughter sound like anyways? Would it be soft? Loud? Infectious? Would it light up everything around him instead of darken it? A hand went up to touch his own lips as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. What would his face look like? Does he have dimples? Freckles? He paused. Maybe, instead of bickering like they did, they could have had a nice talk. Sort out their differences and their feelings-

He startled, cheeks turning deep red, and dropped the blade. No. No way. Nope. He shook his head repeatedly and then buried it into his coat. No. _Damn you, Rin,_ he cursed mentally, _getting into my head._

 

Somewhere, the Nohara sneezed. “Are you ill, medic-san?” She laughed and shook her head, Rin had a feeling that she knew _exactly_ why she sneezed. She could barely hide her proud grin.

 

A bit before the academy, Rin and Obito had been friends. Once they got into it, though, they started setting aside times to spend together since the time to play had become rare. Those times had continued even after they got onto the team. They would sit down, relax, and talk over tea. It was relaxing, especially for Obito, to not have to think too much. That was, at least, until Rin started bringing up Kakashi as a topic. Each and every time, it managed to take him by surprise. Rin also got to think of more plans over tea, seeing as it was far more quiet there than most other places.

She also got to hear a lot about how Obito viewed Kakashi. When they were in the academy, he seemed to have hated him. It was a surprise when she realized that such feelings were more likely his jealousy. At first, it seemed blasphemous to even think like that, but as she watched, she noticed little things. Either way, in the end, it seemed that he had disliked how much attention Kakashi always got for doing little things while he tried so hard and ended up getting a pat on the shoulder. In a way, she guessed, he did hate- However, it wasn’t the Hatake himself.

Over the years, she also learned more things. Obito actually didn’t like cats as much as the rest of his clan, thought candies were so great because the clan wouldn’t let him get any, and didn’t actually hate his family. She… She has always been half convinced that he doesn’t even _know_ how to hate others. He has definitely been upset, and angry to the point that he would cry, but never has she seen the cold look of hatred in his eyes. Her thoughts were getting off track, what she meant to think about was how she had learned just how he worked. His likes, his dislikes..

They could be put to good use in her plans. ~~Which, really, made her sound like some sort of villainess. Her? A villainess? What a silly thought.~~ So, setting them up was far easier than she would have thought. She told her teacher to set up an outing and then bail with Kushina, then she was going to leave the two. Simple, right? It was, almost unnervingly so. Kakashi seemed to want to leave, but Obito cheered up when he realized Minato still left money behind he convinced him to stay with discreet puppy eyes and food.

 

Obito poured them both a cup of tea, looking a bit disgruntled, before sitting in his usual seat. His mood was a bit confusing, seeing as she had heard from a reliable source that her plan went beautifully. Had her source been wrong? Did they get into another fight? He took a sip of his drink, face seemingly blank, before setting it down and staring her in the eye.

“What was that yesterday?” She tilted her head innocently.

“What do you mean?” His expression twitched.

“Your excuse sucked.”

“Like _you_ have any better ones.”

“Hey! My excu- They aren’t excuses!” He then frowned. “And don’t change the subject on me!”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes you did!”

“Really? Hm, strange.” Obito forced himself to drink some more of his tea. “So,” She drawled, eyes glinting dangerously, “How was your date?” And then he choked.

 

“Plan successful?” Anko asked, setting aside her never-ending pile of dango. Rin smirked and Anko’s eyes started to sparkle. “Ooo,” She sang. “Tell me, tell me!” So Rin did.

 

She must have scrambled something in his head with all that date nonsense because all he could think about was that kiss from before. Was that.. Even actually a kiss? There was a mask in between them and they were literally pushed into it, but still… Obito groaned loudly, hiding his red face behind his hands. Fuck. _He’s not in love, he’s not in love, he’s not in love, he’s not.._

...Oh, _fuck_ no.

 

He wasn’t quite sure what to do, really. The revelation that he might actually kinda be in love with Kakashi was enough to set everything he did off. He.. Actually arrived on time for once, mostly because he was too out of it to help anyone. Kakashi looked somewhat impressed, not that he was _watching_ him or anything, but all he could do was worry about his realization. It freaked him out quite a lot and, really, he didn’t at all want to believe it. Why would he? Who would even want to realize such a thing? He practically just upended everything he thought he knew, flipped it upside down, and shattered it.

Still though, at least he was sure Kakashi wasn’t his soulmate. Kinda. His mark doesn’t really give much specifics. Either way, he still wasn’t sure what to do? So he kinda just.. Stood there. All day. Whenever anybody talked to him, he would fumble and fluster and Kakashi would somehow give him a look that was completely indecipherable. Which might not be as hard to read if there wasn’t a big black _mask_ in the way.

Why does he wear that anyways? Buckteeth? Super thin lips? Fangs-- Is he.. A _vampire?_ A weird abomination of tentacles? Pimples? Oh! Maybe he has really bad, _embarrassing_ acne? Hah! What if his teeth were actually senbon? Or maybe he’s a zombie in disguise and is hiding that behind black cloth? Obito makes a face. That’d be… Very _weird._ Terrifying, actually. Why does he even think about that sort of stuff?

He didn’t know and he didn’t like it.

 

Minato had definitely noticed. Of course, he didn’t really know what to do except pat Obito on the shoulder and give a nice smile, but he _did_ notice and he _did_ care. His little student’s cheeks seemed to get more pink than before and he seemed to be at a constant loss for words. Which, really, was enough of a sign to clue him in that _something_ had happened. He didn’t know what but, when he gave Rin a questioning look, she only smiled sweetly. It was concerning. Kakashi was still giving Rin the cold shoulder, so there was.. That? He sighed, watching as Obito backed down from a fight with a flushed face. Minato's expression went carefully blank as he hid his surprise.

…The world might as well be ending.

 

It was hard to make Kakashi happy. Though, of course, there were times where he was decidedly _not_ happy. Which was strange, since he hadn’t felt that same rush of joy as he used to when… Anyways, it was hard to make him happy. He didn’t really like being happy either, his head got light and bubbly, air would seem to escape him, his chest felt uncharacteristically full but oh so empty at the exact same time, and his emotions would get unmanageable. So that was why when he saw Obito looking at him, some unidentifiable look in his eyes (Was it really what he thought it was? It couldn’t possibly be.) and his heart started racing he- Well. He panicked.

There wasn’t much to say about it, really. He only truly forced himself to notice said panic when his hands got too sweaty to hold onto a measly kunai and shook when wasn’t even doing anything. All he ever learned from others to calm panic was breathe, but each time he tried it fled far quicker than before. It just _wasn’t working._ So he made his mind blank and aimed once more, ignoring the concerned look he got from his teacher.

Stupid sensors and their ability to sense his turmoil..

 

Missions were the worst. Obito didn’t really like taking those stupid C-Ranks because some civilian decided that they were too lazy to clean up their trash and instead hired shinobi that were needed in the war to do it instead. Even worse, they decided to _watch_ them. That may sound strangely specific and that was because it was. What even goes through those people’s minds? _‘Oh, hey, there’s a war going on, why not hire some much needed shinobi and force them to go through mindless labor?’_

It was stupid. That was stupid. He huffed, irritated beyond belief, before picking up another paper.

 

Obito was sad. He ate his ramen and he was _still_ sad. He didn’t know why he was sad, he just was. His teacher- Minato seem concerned, looking just about ready to take him out and ask him what was wrong. It wasn’t like he’d be able to give an answer, however. He gave a smile to the Namikaze and the man sighed, picking up his chopsticks again. Though, it seemed that wasn’t all the people of whom were worried, since Rin gave him a few curious looks.

Kakashi, himself, side glanced him every so often, when he thought Obito wasn’t paying attention, and looked to be in deep thought, forgetting his poor bowl. Eventually, he slid the rest of his own, mostly full, ramen to the Uchiha. Obito paused, staring at the eggplant miso, before he slowly turned towards the Hatake. There was a long pause. “..Wh-” Kakashi quickly turned his nose and sniffed.

“Don’t.” Obito went to argue- Before he thought better of it and instead smiled.

“Thanks.” Kakashi startled at that, head snapping towards him, seemingly bewildered for only a short time before turning away, cheeks flushed.

 

“Anko?” Just some casual questioning. Nothing special. “Anko _no._ ” Nothing at all. It wasn’t like she was wrapping a snake around her neck or anything. Why was she doing that. How was she even _alive_ ? He was pretty sure that type of snake poisonous too. “Anko. _Anko,_ if you die I’m going to kill you.” She snorts. “I will,” He threatened, face completely serious. “I will kill you if you die.” She rose a brow at him, looking just about ready to start cackling wildly.

“If I die, you can’t kill me.” He pointed a sharp object at her.

“I will, though. You know I will.” She was- She was petting the snake. _What._ Then it moved, tightening to get closer to the warmth, and he made a very _manly_ sound of _surprise._ No, it wasn’t horror and he _definitely_ doesn’t scream like a little girl, no matter what Anko may tell you. She’s full of lies anyways.

 

The next C-Rank they got sucked. Obito may have been saved a few times from falling down a hill and Rin (everyone actually, but their sensei) kept tripping over cleverly hidden roots and brush. It was a mess of a mission and Obito spilled all of what they were collecting on accident so they had to do it again. In the end they got sent home a day later than they were supposed to because of delays. Obito ranted to their teacher about how C-Ranks weren’t doing them any good.

 

Then they got babysitting. It was a nightmare. He knew how to take care of children, it was something almost all Uchiha had to know, but his teammates didn’t. He at least thought that Rin of all people would be pretty good at it, seeing as she’s a medic. She didn’t. The funny thing about it, though, was how awkward Kakashi was around children. Who knew _that,_ of all things, was his weakness? He grabbed the child’s attention and managed to calm the kid down with a few games and techniques he’d learned through taking care of the clan’s children. He ignored Rin’s impressed sound and smiled smugly to Kakashi. “You’re welcome,” He sang and the Hatake looked away without saying anything.

 

They finally managed to score a B-Rank mission after that. Though, of course, it was to a foreign land that they were at war with, but still. Mission. Much better than babysitting or picking up _trash,_ of all things. They came across enemy-nin, like the mission said they would, except there was far more of them than was specified. Then they were fighting.

He had decided to check on his team, make sure they were okay. Sensei was, of course, fending for himself (and Rin) perfectly. Rin was.. Doing something. And Obito was- that was when he noticed a blade heading towards Obito’s blindspot. His blood turned to ice and he froze, for just a second. If the blade hit - it was very obviously poisoned and aimed towards a weak spot - the Uchiha would die. It would most likely hit one or two important organs, unless he got incredibly lucky, and if he didn’t bleed out before the poison hit… He didn’t even think about the enemy before him, he just _moved._ One second, he was ready for the finishing blow, the next he was getting hit in the ribs because for some _idiotic_ reason, he decided to use his body to block instead of a weapon like any _logical_ person would. _Great job,_ he thought sarcastically, _you really did a favor._ Then he passed out to the sound of someone shouting his name.

 

He froze and his vision narrowed as a flash of silver went behind him and red splattered. It was on his clothes, but it felt like it was on his skin. Warm, sticky, and _slowly_ crawling down, feeling far more heavy than it should. “ _Kakashi_ ,” he breathed, ice all throughout him and on his skin, freezing and biting at him, even as he heard Rin’s scream and Minato’s shout. His blood was pounding and he was so so _angry,_ so so _scared._ ~~Kill them.~~ He wanted to protect, how could it have gone so, _so_ wrong? ~~_How_ **_dare_** _they hurt him?_~~ He felt eerily relaxed, however, like the tension had left his body before it had came. That meant he could focus, and since he could focus- ~~**_Kill, kill, kill, kill_ ** ~~ He stared down at the seemingly unbreathing Chunin before him. _There was a lot of blood,_ he noted, _It must be a terrible wound._ Kakashi wasn’t dead yet, though, he could tell. He knew before he even thought to reach out and check for a pulse. He didn’t care why he knew, though, because it didn’t matter. If they didn’t finish this up soon, he was going to. He could still protect. He _will_ protect Kakashi when he _finally_ needs him the most. He wouldn’t- _He won’t let his comrades die!_

Then he could see everything. The ants startled by the battle, the shaking leaves of a tree, the shifted dirt. He could see the blood creeping, the blue-- Chakra? That was chakra? He could see chakra. That was what made Obito realize, a second later, that what he was seeing with was the sharingan. He had finally gotten it, but… He glared at the person in front of him and, as the enemy went to move, he could see their attack and counter before it even happened. They were dead in a heartbeat.

 

He woke up to an aching side. He was also _very_ nauseous and had a pounding headache. That wasn’t really what was important though, what was important was the smell. He was in a hospital. Great. What day was it anyways? He looked towards the side only to find that it had been.. A couple more than he expected. Five days? That’s a long time in a Shinobi hospital for just some poison and a measly flesh wound. Five days was far more than enough time in a hospital, he was leaving. He heaved himself up as quietly as he could and searched for any seals, picking up the small pack of clothes.

A disappointment, actually. They underestimated him. Only _one_ terribly weak seal, probably genin level- He fought the urge to sigh, they had probably judged him based off of size. _Again,_ which was a mistake, really. They should _know_ better than to underestimate Shinobi during a war. What if he were an enemy in disguise? (It’d be a really shitty disguise, seeing as he’s the only person he knows with silver hair and a mask. Though, seeing as they didn’t seem to know his reputation of escaping hospitals, he guessed they would have taken it anyways.) He made quick work of it before sliding the window open. Mistake number two, keeping a window that could be opened within a hospital room. He looked through it easily. The floor was on the lower levels, another mistake. He had actually managed to sigh that time, hoisting himself up while ignoring the pain in his side, and jumped through just in time for a nurse to come in, trying to quiet the beeping machine. “Oh shit,” Was the last thing he heard from within the room. He fought a victorious smirk.

 

He got to his house after about an hour or so, his side burning far more than it did before. He kept his face carefully blank as he pressed lightly on certain areas before he stopped and pulled away a hand of blood. Oh. So that was why. He made a face and supposed that perhaps he didn’t feel it open was because of the pain medications. If that was what it felt like on meds, he didn’t want to be awake for the rest of it. Either way, he stumbled over to the bathroom and pulled out one of his medical kits before sloppily treating his wound. He’s not going back to the hospital if he has any say in it.

 

He should have known that he wouldn’t have any say in it. He stared at his teacher blankly. His teacher stared back. “So let me get this straight,” Minato started, and oh boy. He knew he was in trouble then. “You get stabbed in the chest by a poisoned blade, wake up in the hospital, and the first thought you get is to escape?”

“Actually, it was that my side was in pain.” Minato looked even more incredulous at that.

“Are you serious?”

“Well that and I was nauseous.” His teacher took a deep breath, clapping his hands together. He then murmured a quick prayer that sounded suspiciously like, _‘Sage, give me strength._ ’

Kakashi’s eyes narrowed.

 

Anyways, he was back in the hospital room, only with seals _everywhere._ His sensei had really out done himself. He huffed, leaning backwards, and closed his eyes. Maybe, if he doesn’t pay attention to the area around him, he won’t remember that he’s in the hospital.

...Childish thought, really. Of course it didn’t work.

 

Obito and Rin came to visit at some point. It was quiet for a little while until Obito finally got tired of it. “Hey, Bakashi!” His head snapped over.

“What?”

“Thanks for helping me get my sharingan!” What? “But are you an idiot? Leaving the hospital like that is frickin’ stupid!” Kakashi stared at the Uchiha. Blankly.

“You’re late.” Obito flushed.

“I got my sharingan at a _perfectly_ reasonable age!” Then he went into a _rant._

 

He was unbelievably tense. Hopefully, they would see that he was good enough to be able to leave. Hopefully, they would let him out the door and, hopefully, he’ll go home and have a talk with his pack. Maybe he’ll even be allowed to _do_ stuff. That’d be great. He doesn’t have a legal guardian, except his jounin-sensei, who could check him out either. He huffed, Minato would not let him out just like that, though.

He was let out a few days later with a warning to not do anything strenuous. He didn’t know why they expected him to listen, but the first thing he was going to do, when alone, was train. He needed to get back in shape, after all.

 

Obito was confused. After Kakashi got out of the hospital, he said nothing for a while. He made no eye contact and seemed to be, constantly, in deep thought. Then, one day, he snapped out of it and kept giving them little things, like small rocks that looked pretty or candies that tasted good. The odd thing was that he didn’t seem to be doing it to make them like him, like most did with gifts, but because he thought that they would want them. He didn’t know how the Hatake made it seem that way, since it contradicted itself, but he did. What baffled him, however, was how he, of all people, seemed to get the most. It didn’t seem to be that intentional either. He would just get a few more candies than the others or maybe an extra, _extremely_ beautiful rock that shimmered in the sun.

Then, little gifts turned into food. They would be eating and Kakashi would order a dish that had a side of something he wouldn't like. He would take it anyways and then slide it over to someone who _did_ enjoy it instead of telling the staff to leave it out or off. He didn’t even know he payed attention to the things they ate, either, but if they skipped a meal he would give them more to eat. If they didn’t like something, he would get them something else. It was.. An odd change. He wasn’t sure how to react to it, even if it _did_ start small.

 

The rest of the team were, indeed, astonished by the change in attitude. They (Read: Minato) had worried that something had happened to make him start behaving the way he had been. Kushina had loudly laughed at that idea, stating that, “Kashi-chan is too stubborn to let someone else change his attitude!” So, instead, they decided to look into it.

Everything lead them to the Inuzuka Clan, mainly because everyone said they do, basically, the exact same thing. They brought it up and the member they were talking to _froze._ “He sees you as- Holy shit.” They demanded answers.

~~Afterwards, they had a nice laugh.~~

 

Rin smiled behind a hand at the two lovebirds. _So cute_ … Her sense of ‘cute’ may have been warped from spending too much time around them, but at least something was going on. Even if it was just another gift. She snickered at Obito’s confused look as Kakashi offered him a cute little trinket. It was amusing to watch him squirm for answers before accepting it delicately. “Thanks..?” He wasn’t sure what was going on and it was _hilariously_ obvious, even funnier since she had found out. It was much too fun to tell Obito, Minato seemed to silently agree, so instead she just smiled at the befuddled looks.

 

Obito thinks everyone is crazy. Rin, Minato-sensei, Anko, Asuma, Kurenai.. Everyone. Especially Anko, though. Yeah, sure, okay. Her teacher was one of the Legendary Sannin, it was a big deal. He still didn’t understand why she liked snakes so much or how she.. How she adored Orochimaru with all her heart. That wasn’t the point! The point was that they were smiling super weirdly each time they saw him and he didn’t like it. They acted as if he were the subject of an inside joke. He didn’t like that either. The Uchiha deliberately flipped them off, while definitely _not_ pouting, it was the only thing he could think of to do. Fantastic.

 

The first time Obito saw Kakashi’s writing was on a mission. It was a report back to the Hokage, so of course he didn’t get to see it long enough to make out the handwriting. All he saw was that the strokes were fine printed, kinda like if it were made by a robot or something. It was almost like the writing on his wrist, but the words were far.. Stiffer. The sentence on his wrist was lazier, as if they couldn’t be bothered to bring whatever they wrote with off the parchment all the way. His mouth twitched. Imagine if his soulmate was a Nara. That would be a nightmare- He snorted out loud, covering the bottom of his face with his hands immediately afterwards. His team stared at him. He stared back, cheeks dusted pink.

The second time he saw Kakashi’s handwriting was deliberate. Kakashi had been beyond exhausted that night and Obito didn’t mean to be rude, it was just that he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t somehow messing up the report. He froze when he realized that- Oh. Haha. His vision must be getting wonky- maybe something got in his eye or something? There was absolutely no way it matched his soulmark. No way ever. He refused, turning away quickly and walking off to.. Somewhere.

The next few times he saw Kakashi writing in general, he ignored it. He ignored just how close it was to the words on his wrist, because if he acknowledged it, then it’d be true. He wasn’t quite ready for that, yet. Besides, there was no way he, of all people, was his soulmate. He sighed into his hands.

 

His ability to deny Kakashi as his soulmate was getting harder and harder as time went on. He had hoped that, at some point, someone else would come along and say the magic words far more often- Or that, maybe, Kakashi would be moved to another team and replaced with _his_ soulmate. Perhaps they would, one day, see his mark and it would be something he had never spoken. Still, the only excuse he had left was that they had never seen _Kakashi’s_ phrase. He wasn’t even that much of a _jerk_ anymore, it was kind of scary.

He had used to daydream about who his soulmate would be. Rin was ideal, even though she had already found her person. She was very kind, after all. Plus, he basically grew up with her, he knew what she did and didn’t like. If he _didn’t_ know such basic information, he would be a rather terrible friend. Of course, the thought of her being his soulmate was spurred on by a naive crush. Absurd as it was, his affections made it somewhat easier to appreciate their friendship.

Without her, he knew, he would be in a dark, _dark_ place.

 

He decided that Kakashi was stupid. Sure, he might be a prodigy or whatever, but he seemed to ignore the _glaringly_ obvious. Even worse, when asked why he was ignoring said _obvious,_ he would blink and think for a little before saying something cryptic as _shit_ about not realizing it. How the fuck does one not realize everyone in the village is trying to set them up with each other?

Kakashi is stupid. Everything is stupid. He put his head in his hands and ignored the urge to scream loudly.

 

They had a C-rank mission to the beach. Kakashi was not looking forward to it, but doing missions as such was the task of Shinobi. It was his fault, anyways, that they had to go back to it. Though, technically, he _could_ blame Obito. He side glanced the Uchiha and rolled his eyes. No way, he’d find pride in getting Kakashi in the hospital by twisting the story a few hundred times into something stupid like being ‘too awesome’ for Kakashi to handle. Which was bull, because Obito sucked. And was weak. _And_ rather pathetic, in his opinion.

When they got to the ocean, he had frozen, for just a moment, at how beautiful it was. Shimmering blue waters, the sun shining off, the waves.. It had seemed, just for a moment, that he had fallen in love with the ocean. Then he snapped back to his senses, they were on a mission after all. His visible awe and sparkling eyes vanished after another short moment, and he was just another shinobi doing his job. He wondered, vaguely, how long he could stand on the sporadic waters in comparison to the rapid streams in Konoha. Obito, and Rin, were not so emotionally restrained. The teens had made very excited comments about how nice it looked, what it might feel like, and, “Look at those fish! They’re so bright!” They were having fun, in the least.

He found himself not minding as much as he should have.

 

Rin had always loved the ocean, or, at least, the idea of it. It was her first time seeing it, however, and her heart had soared. Colorful fish moved in the reef and shells littered the sand. There were pieces of coral washed ashore and seaweed along the rocks. There was a rock that looked shiny but, when she approached it, she realized it was covered in shiny, black, almond shaped shells. Some were smaller than the others but, still, they were beautiful. The waves moved around her feet, pushing and pulling much harsher than the current of the rivers she was used to. It was perfect, more than she had ever dreamed. The waters stuck to her and tried to guide her in, pulling the shells around her and making pieces of sand cling, the chakra inside her _sang._ The ocean felt like coming _home._

 

His ~~pack~~  team liked the ocean, he could tell. Even Kushina liked it, she always used to talk about it when he asked about home. Maybe he should bring something for her? Perhaps some pretty shells that she would like? He frowned. Those weren’t good enough, shells are great and all but.. His eyes shifted to a souvenir shop and it clicked.

 

When Kakashi disappeared for a few hours, they thought nothing of it. They were somewhere new, he would most likely be exploring and learning everything he could about the place. Except, a few more hours passed by and they were starting to get concerned. No one expected him to appear at dusk, soaking wet, and hand them pearls. Minato blinked a few times, staring at the object that he knew were far too large to be bought at a store. They were huge, each around the width of his fingers. They shone with hues of blue and pink, making beautiful purples and spheres of light traveling across as he shifted them within his fingers. “Where did you..” They were the sort of thing Kushina would gush about when talking about the ocean and, while gazing at them, he understood far too well just why she loved it. “How did you get these?” He asked cautiously, in awe of how different they were from the ones in the stores. Kakashi gave him a deadpan look, handing a confused Obito pearl after pearl with their eyes still locked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He monotoned, pocketing the rest while Rin babbled over how beautiful they were. Then he walked off, leaving puddles in the shape of his footprints on his trail. Minato was almost sure that he was hallucinating, it took a few baffled pauses and him pinching his arm to find out he wasn’t.

 

When Kushina got handfuls of souvenirs, toys, huge pearls, and beautiful shells from Kakashi, she had pulled him into a suffocating hug and cried in happiness. It wasn’t her fault that Kakashi ran out, face bright red, as soon as he was freed- okay, it totally was, she’ll admit it- so she won’t apologize! It also wasn’t her fault that she ended up cooing to Minato about just how _cute_ Kakashi was. “Did you _see_ him, ‘ttebane! He gave me so many huge,” She used her hands for emphasis, holding them to show just about the size of the pearl only just a _smidgen_ over exaggerated ~~by making it seem about the size of a baseball~~ , “Pearls! And the _shells!_ ” She made a very happy sound as her husband smiled. “I can’t believe he remembered such details, that cutie!” Minato huffed a laugh, eyes sparkling.

“I am not quite sure he would enjoy such a nickname.” She waved his mock concern away easily.

“Nonsense,” She chirped, “You should have seen him! He got all flustered,” Her infectious grin only widened, “Like a _puppy!”_ Minato laughed and, somewhere, all the way across the village, Kakashi narrowed his eyes with a sudden desire to punch his sensei.

 

Kakashi was not happy, he never really is. Recently, though, he had been feeling excessively down. It didn't make sense to him and it made even less sense if he thought about it too long. Seriously, they were pack. He should be _fine_ with Obito giving Rin things. Except he wasn’t. He groaned. When did he start paying attention to his own feelings anyways? That was a question that he would pay closer attention to later, but at the moment he had to focus on _not_ feeling like his heart was being dumped into cold water. He sulked, staring at the most expensive bag of chocolates he had ever seen, before absently wondering what type of chocolate was Obito’s favorite.

 

“You’re _late,_ ” Kakashi snapped, jumping into the sill of Obito’s window. Then he blinked. Once, twice. What the _fuck_ . For some reason, Obito was leaning towards the team picture with his lips puckered was he- was he going to _kiss_ it? After hearing Kakashi’s presence, Obito’s jumped away from the frame, throwing it a few feet away as he flailed, looking like an academy student caught testing a jutsu without supervision, eyes wide with cheeks terribly red. Kakashi stared blankly before raising a judgmental brow and jumping back out the window. He, really, did _not_ want to find out why Obito was going to kiss the team picture.

When Obito rushed out of his house, his cheeks were still flushed and he adamantly _refused_ to look at Kakashi. He scanned the other and rose a brow. "Your jacket is on inside out." Obito sputtered, turning a bright red, and tried to adjust it. He only rolled his eyes, however, and grabbed his wrist. "We're _late,_ " He insisted, tugging Obito into the direction of their meeting place, "Worry about it _later._ "

~~Okay, maybe he did actually want to know, but the only explanations he could think of hurt him for some reason.~~

Their mission went as simple as could be. Except, Kakashi and Obito didn’t talk to each other, not even to fight. It was.. Awkward. Beyond awkward, actually. Poor Sensei had no idea what to do.

 

Obito always loved the idea of being a shinobi. He didn’t think of war, of famine. He didn’t think of losing in the battlefield, of the tides turning on them. He didn’t think of being ambushed because shinobi are the best and the ones they grow up hearing about are even better. He wanted to be a hero, but didn’t think that it would require death. He wanted to save everyone, to bring peace to the world, but that wasn’t a realistic dream, was it? Still. He had heard of legends, of people far above the rest. He had heard tales of ancestors who had tried their best, and he wanted to be among them. The word, hero, was subjective. Yet he still wanted to be one.

To be one, however, would come after death. Obito, no matter how young, was prepared to die for his village. He wouldn't be _happy_ about it, but a noble death would be better than one that was not. It course, he didn't really count on being kidnapped. Neither did he count on them _covering his eyes_ and trying to put him in a genjutsu. The shinobi bickered amongst themselves before he heard one of them bring out something sharp. “You will,” A gruff voice hissed, bringing up his sleeve and pressing a knife against his wrist, “Tell us your plans.” He had to force his breathing to calm before trying to see through or under his blindfold. No use. He was going to _die-_ “Or I'll cut that soulmark of yours into slivers.” He bit his lip, however, and stayed silent, holding onto the hope that his team would come for him.

 

Kakashi stared at the spot where Obito was last, disbelieving of what had happened only minutes prior. Rin had widened eyes, a hand hovering over her mouth to muffle a silent gasp. She then turned to him, eyes sharpening. “We are going after him,” She said sternly.

“But-” He started, confused and- The rules! They had rules to follow still, but..

“No,” She retorted before he could even try to continue that sentence. “He is your _soulmate._ ”

"I know!" He snapped, voice cracking as he looked away. "I _know_ he his."

“Good,” She growled, “Then you _will_ go after him.” He stood still for a few seconds, conflicted, before running into the direction that he felt his soulmate, Rin right behind him.

 

When he got there, he could smell blood. He slid to the side of the cave, careful with the knowledge that nothing _ever_ went unguarded, and tried to find where the enemy shinobi were located. He stretched his chakra out and coated any other signatures, that he could feel, with a thin layer. Staying focused, he marked the positions he felt mentally, repeating them to himself silently as to let it set. Then, only then,did he reach for his tanto, sliding it out of place as to make it easier to wield if caught, and make eye contact with Rin. She nodded and he wondered, for a just a moment, how she knew what he was thinking. Then he was sprinting into the mouth with the intent to kill at least one of them.

The man he aimed for, however, turned invisible. He froze, for only half a moment, before twisting on his heels and turning the blade into a stomach. Blood coated his arms, but he had little time to care, pushing his weapon forward, he charged lightning into the conductor and ripped it back out with no intent on leaving a clean wound. A yell echoed as the ninja fell into a heap of useless limbs, choking on his own blood even as the cave rumbled, and Kakashi _moved._ As swift as he could, he ran to the sound of Rin’s voice, knowing that Obito would be with her. They needed to get _out._

_Quickly._

He halted at the sight of deathly pale skin clashed against red and Rin fumbling with blood-soaked sponges, pressing them against Obito's cut up arm. “We have to _go,”_ Kakashi said, voice quivering slightly as he stared, evermore aware of how _weak_ and _hollow_ Obito's breathing was. Obito would be fine, he _knew,_ but he had to prepare himself for the harsh reality of if he didn't. ~~How would life be without the sun?~~ Pieces of rock began to fall, crashing around them.

“But he’s going to-”

“That was an _order,_ ” He snapped, “We _have_ to go or he _will_ die!” Rin paused, flickering her gaze between her two comrades, before giving an determined nod. Her instructions on how to hold Obito ( _“Raise his arm- Put pressure on it- Don't move him more than necessary-_ ”) were rushed, but they had no real choice, running out of the cavern as it fell into pieces.

 

The mission didn't exactly end as well as it should have, but it was better than one of them dying. He frowned, staring at the where Obito's soulmark should be, under the wrapping, and pondered if it was _truly_ better. The doctors said that the soulmark would most likely be unreadable or just not exist anymore, as the skin on his wrist had been cut into slivers or just torn off, and it made his chest itch. He couldn't blame Rin for how little treatment Obito got on the field- it was _his_ fault, _his_ orders, after all- and the medical staff in the hospitals tried their best to not leave any lasting damage.

Their best was good, he would admit, but it was wasn't enough. They were focused on his veins and tissue, paying little attention to his skin. He- wasn't sure how he should feel.

~~“Fix him,” He had said to one of the staff, covered in blood and eyes glinting dangerously.~~

~~“But we-” He sharpened his glare.~~

~~“I have to finish the mission, _fix him._ ~~ ~~”~~

 

Actually, he wasn't supposed to feel at all.

 

He felt guilty for Obito's injuries. Though he was aware that it _wasn't_ his fault, he was _his_ soulmate and soulmates are meant to _protect_ each other. To make it worse, beyond the fact that he failed to do his job, there was an incredibly high chance that Obito's mark would be unreadable or just not exist anymore.

He buys Obito that expensive bag of chocolate despite the fact that he was still in the hospital.

 

Obito was released only a little bit later with a shockingly clean looking wrist. There were areas where the skin rose, Kakashi noticed, and very few spots left of what used to be his soulmark. Obito showed it with a wide, yet somewhat sad, grin, and laughed. “Guess I'll never find out who my soulmate is!”

Kakashi looked away, his chest feeling like it was being split in two.

He really wanted to disappear, sometimes.

 

He shoved the bag into Obito's face, a determined, yet somewhat irritated, expression on his face, and watched the Uchiha fumble. Eventually, he pulled it down slightly and looked away. “What are they?” Obito asked, taking the bag from Kakashi's grip.

“Chocolates,” Kakashi replied succinctly. He could see Obito glare, pouting just a little, from in the corner of his vision.

“That's not what I meant, Bakashi!” Obito huffed, reading the packaging while beginning to rant, “Honestly, do you not understand custom or some-” Obito froze and Kakashi returned his gaze to his face, noticing how incredibly shocked the other is. Eventually, he pressed his lips together into a thin line and gave Kakashi a _look._ ”These better be for me.” He said seriously, “I've been wanting this type of chocolate _forever._ ”

“I _gave_ them to you,” The Hatake sniffed, “Who _else_ would they be for?” Obito’s expression twisted in irritation.

“I don't know!” The boy snapped, flailing the bag frivolously, “Maybe you _somehow_ got a friend,” Kakashi narrowed his eyes, “And decided to buy them super expensive chocolates for shits and giggles!” Kakashi stared for a while before he walked away silently. Obito shouted after him angrily, so he walked faster.

 

Despite what Obito had said, Kakashi _did_ have friends. Gai, who kept yelling about youth always, was one of them and Asuma was the other. Asuma was a _wonderful_ friend. He dealt with Kakashi's bullshit. Namely so that he could give Kurenai the rocks that Kakashi gave him, but still. _Friendship. Yay._

He didn't go to Asuma _just_ to spite Obito, though. He also just liked being around Asuma when the others annoyed him, so. He stared at Asuma, Asuma stared back. Eventually, the teen just sighed loudly, “What’d you do this time?” He felt offended, honestly. Why did everything have to be _his_ fault?

"I did nothing," He responded stiffly. Asuma did _not_ believe that for a second, quirking his brow.

"Really?" The Sarutobi asked, pressing a hand over his heart in mock shock, "Is the world burning? Did you find the cure to tyranny?"

"Yes," Kakashi huffed, "You kill everyone."

"I am going to pretend I didn't hear that," His friend said simply, "So that when I'm interrogated, I won't be lying when I said I didn't know." Kakashi had a _wonderful_ friend. "Anyways," Asuma drawled, "I _was_ serious, you only look like that after you did something that you ended up regretting." He twitched and his friend smirked. "I was right, wasn't I?"

"No," Kakashi lied. "I didn't."

"Did you?"

"Of course not." Kakashi tried to change the subject, "Obito's an idiot, as always." It didn’t work.

"So you upset Obito." Kakashi deflated.

"He implied that I didn't have friends." Asuma sympathetically pat his shoulder.

"To be fair though, you really don't." _Traitor._

 

The first time that Obito heard Kakashi laugh was _mind breaking._ Of course, it was over something he never really expected, but it was enough to make the chopsticks in his hands snap.

Imagine a normal day, Team Minato talking over ramen, before _Kushina-fucking-Uzumaki_ barrels in and slams Minato's head into his ramen bowl. The man flailed as the red-head ranted about seals and time-shit, her hair floating with killer intent. Honestly, it was kind of scary, until it wasn't because _Kakashi_ was _laughing_ and **_what the fuck._ **

Since _when_ could he _do_ that?

Actually, what he said earlier was a lie. It made it all the _more_ terrifying because the way Kakashi's eyes scrunched up and his lips curled as his laughter grew was in _terrifying_ detail- and Obito's face suddenly felt _incredibly_ warm. His bowl of ramen dropped in, what felt like, slow motion, and _Kakashi had fangs what the fuck?_

Like he said, mind braking.

He's pretty sure that he stared for the next half hour. Fuck.

 

Rin would _not_ leave him alone afterwards. She grinned that smug grin of hers and poked and teased him with _I-knew-you-loved-him_ _'s_ and, honestly, Obito kinda just wanted to hide in a hole and scream. He didn't even know _why_ he was trying to deny it anymore, there was no point. Rin was quite convincing and everything added up, plus he already kind of knew in the first place. No point, no point at all.

Still, he could see Kakashi’s laughter whenever be closed his eyes, he could see just how _radiant_ he was and it made him so much more sloppy than he was before. His hands would get clammy and stomach would twist, face warm and chest all sorts of bubbly, it felt like he was getting sick only he knew he wasn’t. Love was _stupid._

 

Anyways, after their short break via arm injury, they went back to missions. It took at least a week of D-ranks before Obito was _sure_ he was going insane and _begged_ for something of a higher rank. Of course, they got a convoy mission, probably because two Jounin would be with them, which reminded Obito of the fact that _Kakashi_ was _Jounin._ Fuck. How were they even on a _team_ anymore?

Anyways, they only had to convey a lesser merchant to smaller village within the land of fire for predicted trades. Which was cool, better than picking up garbage or babysitting, but the merchant was the _weirdest_ civilian that Obito had _ever_ met. Perhaps it was because they guy was an old man, but still. “You are too quiet, kid.” Said old man said, smiling. “I’d love to hear more about those adventures of yours!” Obito blinked, for he had _never_ been called too _quiet_ before, and exchanged a glance with his team.

"Haha," He laughed nervously, "You mean you want me to talk? Louder? _More?"_ And the client nodded. _Holy shit._ “Are you serious?” He asked, tone incredulous. The old man rolled his eyes.

“Get talking, kid!”  
“Oh- I uh,” Then he did. He talked about how his clan was starting to like him, about how Fugaku had _smiled,_ just a little, when he told them that he got his sharingan. He told the old man about how _much_ he cared for his family. The old man listened and the mission felt faster than any of the others that he had been on.

His team didn’t say a thing, but he could swear that Kakashi was smiling.

 

The day felt off. Everyone was hiding something and he was sure that they didn’t have anything big that he missed. He narrowed his eyes at Minato as he made some flimsy excuse about why training was cancelled. He glanced at his other teammates but they avoided eye contact, Obito even _whistled._ Something was going on and they weren’t telling him what. Rin made another, pretty terrible, excuse about having to go with their teacher to help him… Help Kushina give labor? She wasn’t even _pregnant,_ what?

The day passed slowly as he tried to pry answers out of Obito, of whom tried to direct him everywhere _but_ near his new apartment. Said boy grabbed his wrist again, pulling him in a different direction, “Where now?” He bit, far beyond irritated by how Obito kept dancing, clumsily, around the answer.

“Don’t worry about it,” The Uchiha responded, continuing to tug him along.

“...We’re going in circles, Obito.” Obito huffed.

“I know that! Don’t worry about it!” Really, that only made him a bit more concerned.

 

He scanned the area that they stopped at and gave the Uchiha a look, “Weren't you trying to take me _away_ from here?” The teen grinned and scratched his cheek.

“I was that obvious, huh?” Kakashi rose a brow.

“Obito,” He said blankly, “You are a terrible liar.” Obito bristled, releasing Kakashi in the process, and fell into a pout. The Hatake shifted his arm, ignoring just how cold it had gotten at the loss of contact.

“I am not!” The Uchiha lied terribly, contradicting his own words, “Besides! We are here now, let's go in!” He opened the door.

 

The lights turned on and he froze as people jumped out from behind the objects and shouted surprise. “Oh,” He breathed, eyeing the words hung from the ceiling. “Its my birthday.” Kushina snorted, jumping at him and ruffling his hair, despite his attempts to escape the grip.

“No really, ‘ttebane?” She asked, smelling awfully like a puppy. The whole room smelt like pup, actually. He slid out of her grip and started searching. “Aw,” Her heard her pout, Minato laughing in the background as he looked under the table. “I told you that we should have done _that_ last! He already _knows,_ dattebane!”

“He is basically a dog, Kushina-san,” He heard Rin agree, “Of course he does.” He sniffed in offense, giving said teammate a glare, before he made a sound of accomplishment and slid a small kennel out from under a covered chair.

“Hello,” He cooed at the pup within, “I am Kakashi.” A little nose poked out and he smiled, slowly reaching out and letting the pup sniff at his hand. The pup then made a sound and he opened up the metal door. Out came a brown pup with darker ears and paws, wobbling on its feet enough for him to know that the pup was _young,_ and, _oh sage,_ he _really_ loved dogs. “What's your name?” He asked. The pup let out little sounds in response and his smile widened, “Bisuke? That's a great name.”

 _“He's nicer to dogs than he is to us,”_ He ignored Obito stage-whisper.

 

So the surprise birthday party went great, he even got a few other things after he found Bisuke. There was cake, as well, though he had never really cared for sweets that much, which everyone tried to get him to eat some of. He had refused, of course, much to their (Read: Rin’s) disappointment, and instead showed Bisuke where to and where not to go within his apartment, determined to layer on more rules later.

 

Obito sighed, drumming his fingers, as he watched Kakashi spar with Minato. It was a pretty cool fight, intense and all that stuff, but he _really_ wanted to spar with Kakashi again. He had the sharingan and spent so long practicing with it, and then recovering, that he never really had enough time to try and fight. He pouted as Minato used a super cool move and tripped Kakashi up for a moment, just enough time to aim near his student’s throat. Kakashi, however, used the momentum of his fall to slide under the throw. It was a _really_ cool fight and they did seem pretty neck to neck which was impressive as fuck. It would most likely last a while.

Which meant that he probably wasn’t going to be allowed to spar with Kakashi.

Damn it.

 

He was never one for logic, he would try to be but it would all get jumbled up and he’d think of something else instead. For that reason, him being the one to distract Rin, of all people, was confusing to him. Still, he had a mission! He pulled her to the flower shop and did his best.

The party, of course it was a party what _else_ would it be, was filled with strawberries and turtle decorations. She loved it. A lot.

Though he didn’t really get to help set up, he at least got her a gift that she loved! _Senbon._ She would be a _menace_ on the battlefield.

 

He often felt far more self-conscious around Obito than he did when around anyone else that he knew, including Minato-sensei. It had always pressured him to be _better- better- better,_ be the best, get further, be smarter. Of course, Obito didn’t really care for the fact that he was actually fairly ahead of the course, that he was better. All he had really correlated it to was the fact that Obito must have been jealous, must have been bitter because Kakashi was so, _so_ much better than him that he couldn’t stand it. He never thought about how it might have been possible that he was just an asshole about it, that all those petty remarks he used to make ruined any chance he would have had to make his soulmate happy, to get closer, to break down his own walls.

The realization had shattered him, for a short while. It made him disoriented and confused and he didn’t know what else to be except for a jerk. He didn’t know how else to phrase the things he wanted to say, he didn’t know how to say “thank you” to Obito without it making his throat tight and him feel all too vulnerable even when he wasn’t. Instead, he had gone with actions, small gestures of his hidden kindness, a bowl of food, a gift, a small smile. He hadn’t realized that he had gotten attached until it was too late, until he wanted to be nowhere but near their side.

It scared him. He didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t want them to leave.

It was a selfish desire of his, one on top of many, to want them to stay always, to never leave, never _want_ to leave. Perhaps, if he gave them more gifts, if he got _useful,_ far more than he was already, then they would never do so. He wanted them to be with him forever because he didn’t know where else they could be except _gone._ And if they were gone, he would be sad. He hated being sad, even if it was a frequent feeling, so that meant they had to stay.

 

He didn't understand why the thought of Obito being in love with anyone else made him so sad and angry all at once.

 

Rin gave a smile, “We still haven’t talked about _that,_ have we, Kakashi-kun?” He paused, blinking before handing his new pup a treat.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Bisuke sniffed around his hand for more as Rin gave a vague response.

“Oh, you know.” No, no he didn’t. His eyes narrowed as he shot her a confused look. “ _That._ ” She elaborated. He didn’t really know why he tried.

“That?” He attempted for some foreign reason, apparently deciding to pat his nin-ken in the meanwhile.

“Yes,” She grinned, grabbing his free wrist in a surprisingly tight grip, “ _That._ ”

Oh.

 

They sat across from each other, Rin sipping at her tea as Kakashi stared at her. “So,” She started, holding her cup over her lap, “Why didn’t you tell him?” He leaned away from her.

“Why should I have done so?” She seemed to have done the equivalent of a full-body twitch, irritation slipping into her otherwise placid expression.

“He is your soulmate,” She was blunt, armored with a stare that made him look to the floor, “You two are _made_ for each other. Yet you cover your mark and say nothing about it. Why?” Why? He didn’t know why anymore. “Are you _ashamed_ to be connected to him in such a way?” He shook his head quickly.

“Not anymore-” She cut him off.  
“Anymore? You mean you were?” Ah, he had really dug himself into a hole, hadn’t he. “Then _why_ do you _still_ cover it? He _deserves_ to know!”

“Because there is no point!” He snapped, “His mark is _gone_ and it was _my_ fault!”

Silence. Unbearable silence.

“Oh,” She whispered. “Kakashi-kun, you don’t _really_ think that, do you?” He set his cup aside.

“I have to go.” Kakashi got up quickly, stumbling over his own feet as he left as quick as possible.

He could hear her call for him as he ran.

 

Perhaps it was because he still wasn’t used to talking about his emotions, perhaps it was because he didn’t even know how to handle them, but he knew that he just needed to get as far away as possible. If he thought about it, he knew that she was right. Obito deserved to know, with or without his soulmark. How he would approach the topic, however, was lost to him.

 

He had a mission. Alone. It was his first one, excluding tests, and he could tell from the get-go that it was fairly different from the rest. It had a different feeling to it, like someone would jump out at any second and destroy everything. Of course, that was extremely unlikely, but he couldn’t exactly say that it would not happen. He turned towards the object he was supposed to protect, “And if they try to take it?” A woman, Aki if he remembered correctly, handed him a piece of paper with a strange design on it, reminiscent of Kushina and Sensei’s jutsu.

“Seal it.” She said easily, giving a thin (fake?) smile. “I wish you luck, shinobi-san.” The way she stated her wish made the hairs on his neck stand on end.

At that point, he was sure that it wasn’t just because it was his first mission alone.

 

The first few days were uneventful. He walked with the item hidden in his scarf, seal always ready. He had realized that it was, indeed, a seal, like she said, when he was far enough to inspect it without raising any suspicions. He broke _another_ rule just by doing that, he had no true reason to suspect his client, no evidence of what he suspected. And, in the end, there was nothing. As such, if the client knew, they would have every right to cut the pay. He sighed, adjusting his scarf to cover his mask. He didn’t really know why, since his hita-ate would give him away easily, but he felt the need to do it.

He saw a group of people and lowered his gaze, continuing to walk, even as he felt the eyes on his back.

 

A week in and he had gotten halfway to the point where they, his client and him, were supposed to meet up. A branch snapped above him and he tensed, reaching into his pouch for a weapon. The cold air bit at him as he turned quickly.

Empty.

He didn't stop there in his search, instead glancing to the sides and stretching his senses in search of chakra. He jumped to the side, just into time to avoid a hammer, and ducked as the assailant swung, kicking his legs out in an attempt to trip the enemy.

 

And then he woke up, neck pounding as he tried to regain grip on what had happened. He was attacked, that much he knew. He was also blindfolded, he could feel the weight, especially when he tried to open his eyes and instead got a line of brightness at the bottom of his vision and his eyelashes being pulled. Well, fuck. There was not a lot else that he could say.

He tried to move his wrists but froze when the chair (it was probably a chair) he was on creaked loudly. “Oh?” A familiar voice asked, “I think the kid is awake.”

“We can’t have that,” Another, yet unfamiliar, voice stated. “Knock him out, he might cause trouble.”

“Sir, we have bound everything just as you told us. How could he cause trouble?” Familiar, familiar, familiar… Who? Kakashi stayed tense, curling his fingers in to feel what was binding him. It was definitely not rope, which was something new and terrifying. The chance of escaping had dropped drastically with that information. There were no knots that he could feel and it didn’t seem to be made out of any material that he knew of. He couldn’t see it, either, so he had no idea how to verify what it might have been. He was trapped.

There was a possibility that he could break it with chakra, but there was also a chance that it was made from some type of metal, which would make it far harder to do, especially with fire or lightning. Compressed water and wind might be able to break it, but even if he broke free, he knew that people were nearby. Those people might be shinobi, or trained in taijutsu. Perhaps they were far more experienced, there was no telling.

How would he get enough time to escape all of his bindings and defend himself before alerting any (possible) others with them?

 

It took a little while before he managed to remember what had happened after he tried to trip his attacker. They had grabbed his scarf in just the right way that the object he was protecting fell out, much to his disdain. Kakashi quickly kicked his attacker in the stomach (being short is good, sometimes) as they reached for the relic. He then grabbed it and tried to get away, if not to just find another place to hide it, but the person managed to hit a pressure spot. In the few seconds that he kept consciousness, he pulled out the seal, applied chakra, letting the stone fall in, and put it on his arm.

That.. Probably wasn’t the best idea, really. He didn’t know what sort of seal it was, what it could have done to him if he put the wrong amount of chakra into the wrong spots. At least he was alive, but that could change at any moment. He had no idea what they held in store, so he- “We need to break the seal.” The familiar voice stated, sounding sad.

Well, shit.

He had a feeling that them breaking the seal would not be fun.

 

He could tell how inexperienced they were just by how long they poked and prodded at the seal, as if expecting it to burst. Perhaps their inexperience was far more prominent than it could have been after learning under two fuuinjutsu masters, but he tried to ignore just how nervous it made him, knowing that they could mess something up without realizing. The fear was not unfounded- he had witnessed even careful, precise Minato make a seal that exploded only seconds later, dumbfounding the teacher as he tried to find out what went wrong. He could, probably, use Kushina’s seals as an example, as well, but she takes practically everything in stride, so he could never be _sure_ if they were meant to explode or not.

…That train of thought was decidedly _not_ helpful. At all. His captors starting talking amongst themselves, bickering about which symbol meant what before one of them growled. “Screw it,” The male said, pulling Kakashi’s wrist harshly- he fought a wince- and poured chakra into the seal. It felt like liquid fire, spiraling around his seal before spreading through him, burning him from the inside. His breath hitched as it attacked his chest, burning, searing-

 

He was cold. He could feel the air hitting his wrist, stinging the seal on his arm. He was burnt, he noted faintly, lightheaded and tired. Chakra burns? That seemed reasonable. Did they think that pouring foreign chakra into a seal would break it? Idiots. He was incredibly tired- he tried to move but it was shaky and the bonds were limiting- and weak. How long was he unconscious? He turned his head a bit to see a line of light under the cloth around his eyes. It was probably daylight, which meant that at least one day had passed. If that was correct than someone was probably sent out to try and find out what had stopped his scheduled reports.

There was the sound of something breaking and shouting. It seemed that he had a headache as well, probably from being, technically, poisoned by chakra. When he gets the time, he is going to have to regain control over his chakra system. The sound of things breaking (pebbles falling?) got closer and closer until, eventually, he heard the door slam open. “Kakashi!” A w- Kushina? What was _Kushina_ doing there? “There you are, ‘ttebane!” She untied the blindfold and he blinked furiously, adjusting to the light. “Are you alright? I was _really_ worried, you just suddenly stopped sending in reports and the old man started looking concerned again and-” She paused and he looked up to see her frown. “You _worried_ me! You _idiot! What_ were you _doing_ getting kidnapped, dattebane?” She looked like she wanted to shake him, but only ended up sighing while she released the last of the strange bonds. “We gotta go now but-” She glared at him, “We _will_ continue this conversation later.”

 

Apparently, the mission was canceled because the woman who hired him, Aki, was actually just setting him up for a trap. She was hired by a man to bring him the object which led to them both being in the hideout where Kakashi was found. They were both to be executed for other crimes that were confidential. Kushina had undone the seal on his wrist swiftly and returned the artifact to the village that it originated from.

He didn’t get paid. Which _sucked_ because he went on that mission to _get_ money.

 

Obito couldn't help but worry about Kakashi. He was supposed to return a few days ago and someone came by asking if he was sending any covert messages _or_ hiding out. Which, he wasn't. Then, Kushina heard some news about him and _sprinted_ out the gates of the village? She wasn't even wearing her hita-ate! As so, concern. Lots of concern. Oh, he knew that Kakashi was still alive- He _knew._ He didn't know how he knew, yet Kakashi was _alive_ and that was all that was important- but all the fuss that was being made about traitors and some important object? Was not helping the anxiety that kept growing.

He decided, when he saw Kakashi again (tired and pale, looking as if he could collapse at any moment), that leaving someone alone was _overrated._

 

Kakashi had forgotten not to look at Obito. It felt like something natural to do, to watch him as he talked, to nod along to what he said, to let him pull him towards the stalls for something to eat. He had forgotten about Rin telling him to tell Obito about the words on his skin, that he had ran away before answering, that he should feel awkward. That was until Obito took off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist. Suddenly, he felt like the wall was far more interesting than the boy that he _knew_ was his soulmate, his _destined._

He could practically _feel_ the confusion as Obito tried to catch his attention again, waving his _mark-less_ arm in front of him. "Kakashi?" The Uchiha attempted,  "Bakashi? You there?" He wanted _out out out out-_ He wasn't _ready_ yet! He knew he would have to face it eventually, but it wasn't the time yet and- When Kakashi glanced at him, he saw the gears turning and the _hurt_ hidden behind the deciphering squint.

Fortunately- or perhaps not- when Kakashi went to speak, Obito ended up being dragged away by a ranting girl with purple hair.

 

Obito pulled his wrist out of her pulling grip, stumbling backwards as she turned around, ”What-” She cut him off.

“Today was our day,” She pouted, “Besides, lover-boy didn’t exactly seem to be having fun.”

“He- not- L-lover-boy?” Needless to say, he was flustered. But! Despite her odd nickname for Kakashi, she seemed serious. “He’s not my lov- _lover-_ boy,” He said with as much composure as he could managed, voice shaking and cheeks red, “And- He just came back from being _kidnapped,_ Anko. Of _course_ he isn’t having fun!” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah yeah, _trauma_ and shit. ‘M serious though, he looked pretty overwhelmed. Did you say something weird again? Flirt a little bit too much?” How she could always assume something was romantic was confounding.

“W-what?” He sputtered, bringing a hand to his chest in what he thought was probably offense, “Of course not!”

“Really?” She asked, disbelieving, “Then what happened?”

“I- I don’t know,” He confessed, “I took off my jacket and suddenly he wouldn’t look at me anymore.” She looked positively _delighted_ with that information.

“You were _so_ hot that he couldn-”

 _“No!”_  Why does he _ever_ tell Anko _anything?_

 

It was a shame to have missed Minato's birthday because of a mission gone wrong. Kakashi should have been better- trained a bit longer each day, got stronger and _faster-_ so that he could have been there. It wouldn’t be the first time he missed his teacher’s birthday, but Minato always tried to be home when the day came- mostly to spend time with Kushina (though his teacher _would_ deny it with a bright red face if asked)- and Kakashi was never late. It was a weird thing to feel ashamed for, he usually didn’t mind missing social interactions, nevermind birthdays. Perhaps it was because he only realized a few days after he was released from the precautionary stay in the hospital (again, sealed on every surface he could find. He could probably ask someone to teach him a bit more about fuuinjutsu so that he could at least get rid of a few and _maybe_ worm his way out.) Or maybe it was because he had been getting attached. He kind of hoped that wasn't the case, even if he knew it was the truth. He didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of him.

He sighed, rubbing the scars. The burns weren't fully healed yet- chakra burns took far longer than regular burns, with or without a medic- but he found a strange sense of comfort when brushing over them.

 

Rin gave him a look, eyes narrowed with a silent threat. “You have been avoiding me.” He looked away from her, a silent confession. “Why?”

“You know why.” At least she probably did. He hoped she did. Other people tend to forget things much easier than he ever could. He could see her frown, the silence strangling him.

“Do I?” Does she? He looked at her to see that yes, she did. Her eyes held deep disappointment, a type of thing that he had seen rarely.

“You do.” She frowned, raising her head.

“Then you need to grow up,” She said sternly, “Or one day you might just lose those close to you.” And perhaps she was right, Rin was a lot smarter than she liked to let on, but he wouldn't admit it.

He walked away, her eyes burning his back.

 

Kakashi was never one for emotions. They only got harder to control, to understand, as he grew up. He knew that he had to try, however, or he would risk letting them die. Or hurting them.

Again.

He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and knocked on the door. “Obito? Are you home?” There was silence and it made him nearly lose his nerves. What if he wasn't home and Kakashi was doing it all for nothing? Minato would be disappointed in him if he gave up that easily, instead he knocked again. “Obito.” There was a loud yelp and the sound of something hitting the floor.

“Just a second!” Oh. Oh good. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but as soon as the door opened, he froze. Obito. He _knew_ it was Obito, why was he so surprised? He _came_ to talk to Obito. Talk, Kakashi, talk. “Eh? What are you doing here, Bakashi?” The door opened a bit more and he realized that Obito was wearing pajamas, which meant that he probably woke him up. He went to speak but his breath caught. “Come on in.” The boy smiled, voice changing into something light and playful, “Unless you came just to stand outside.”

“No,” He choked out, “I didn't.”

“Then come in! I'm sure I have something to eat if you're hungry.” Kakashi followed him in. “So,” Obito drawled, sitting on his couch with a grin, “What was it you came here at six in the morning for?” Kakashi sat down across from him, trying his best to not back out. “Don't tell me! Did you come to confess your undying love for me?”

Kakashi promptly choked on air.

 

After half an hour of relentless apologies from Obito, he finally managed to catch his breath (and bearings) again. “I'm sorry!” Obito cried once more, “I was making a joke!” He nodded mutely, taking a few extra seconds to refigure how he was going to approach what he wanted to do.

“I-” Obito perked up and his throat went dry. “I wanted to.. To apologize.”

“What?” The Uchiha looked shocked, eyes wide and shoulders tense. “You wanted to- Why?”

“I have been ig- avoiding you recently for something of which has not been your fault.” Obito blinked. “I- I should have protected you better and I'm..” He bowed his head, hiding the tears. “I'm sorry.” There was a thick silence. “I'm not- I'm not asking for forgiveness, I just wanted you to know th-”

“Are you talking about my arm?” He flinched but that was an answer in itself. “Kakashi,” Obito started gently, “That was months ago.”

“I am aware of that, however-”

“I don't blame you.” Kakashi jerked up, staring at him with wide eyes.

“But now you won't know who your-”

“Soulmate is?” He looked down but Obito just laughed. “I don't really mind! It will make it all the more of an adventure,” He grinned at Kakashi, “Don't you think?”

 

Apologizing was not all he meant to do, but Kakashi had already felt exposed just by crying, by having warm arms wrap around him as he _finally_ let the grief leave his shoulders. Obito was a good friend, an excellent teammate.

A wonderful soulmate.

 

It was Obito's birthday. Rin had dragged him out of his bed by his arm, grinning at him with a wide smile. “Come on Obito,” She laughed, “I have something I want to show you!”

He let her lead him to a field of flowers and between trees, under a canopy and over a creek, she took him to a cliff before bringing her finger to her lips and covering his eyes. She pushed somewhere and he forced himself to be relaxed.

“We're here.” Her hands moved from over his eyes and he blinked. His team and all of his friends smiled at him and he could feel his eyes sting.

“You- you all..?”

“Happy birthday!” Kushina yelled, wrapping her arms around him.

 

“Kakashi.” He jolted, turning swiftly to see Obito. “Follow me.” What? His throat went dry and he nodded to Asuma, getting up to follow Obito.

“Will you be alright?” Asuma mouthed.

“I'll be fine.” He mouthed right back.

 

So, perhaps he wouldn't be fine. He was sitting in Obito's room, watching said boy stare at him with a very determined gaze. “Show me your soulmark.” What? Kakashi stiffened and pulled away from the boy, moving his hand to cover his wrist. Obito’s face pulled into something panicked, “I know you haven’t shown anyone your soulmark since, well, _ever,_ but I kind of have an idea and I don’t know if it’s right but-”

“Show me your arm.” Obito obediently held out his arm and Kakashi rolled his eyes, “Other arm, idiot.” The Uchiha pouted, cheeks turning an embarrassed shade of pink, and held out his other arm. Kakashi rolled up the boys sleeve and stared at the scars, eyes going sad.

“You know I already said it wasn’t your fault, Bakashi.” The Hatake huffed, “I meant it.” Kakashi ran his fingers across the scars before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and releasing Obito’s arm.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

 

He had to show Obito his soulmark. His _soulmark._ Of course, it was likely that he didn’t _have_ to, but it felt like it. If he was going to _not_ back out, giving himself a bit more time to prep himself seemed like a good idea. It wasn’t. His thoughts were a whirlwind of ‘what if’s, of doubts and anger that did not want to die down. Instead, every time he attempted to ease it, the storm grew stronger and stronger, making his chest seize and hands shake. He had to do it.

He _had_ to do it.

He had to..

 

He woke up at dawn, exhausted for no particular reason, and readied himself. He brushed his hair, changed his mask, made breakfast and ate it despite his unusually small appetite. He stepped out of the house, braced himself, and _walked._

 

Obito wasn’t well known for thinking things through. His impulsivity got him in trouble more often than not and bad luck always seemed to follow him. Regardless of his many experiences with saying things he would regret, he still asked Kakashi to show him his soulmark, he still saw the panic in his eyes, the sadness as he touched Obito’s scars, the slight slouch as he said two final words and left. He regretted it, of course he did, watching Kakashi look so vulnerable had made him feel like Kushina kicked him in the chest (again).

He was relieved to see Kakashi again, despite how tired he looked, and grinned. If he had come over, then that meant that he wanted to show Obito his soulmark! He could finally help him understand if he was his soulmate or not. Kakashi scanned the area before pushing Obito back into his house, sitting on the couch with a huff and putting out his arm. He pulled off Kakashi’s glove and marveled at how many scars he had, turning his hand over before looking up at the Hatake. Kakashi was looking away from him, from his wrist, and it reminded Obito that nobody else would have seen his soulmark. “You really don’t have to-”  
“Just get it over with,” Kakashi interrupted. “Before I change my mind.” Obito gave a smile before rolling up Kakashi’s sleeve.

What.

_What._

**_What!?_ **

 

Obito made a strangled noise and Kakashi froze. Of course Obito would sound so distressed, who would want Kakashi of all people as their soulmate? He never knew how to respond to emotions or smile correctly and he has been so, _so_ cruel to Obito since his father died. No, since _before_ his father died. He bit his lip and turned, slowly, to see Obito, beet red, staring at Kakashi. Oh. Oh no.

He’s _cute._

Tears started to well up in Obito’s eyes as he leapt forward and pulled Kakashi into a hug. “Thank you for showing me,” He choked out, “I had my doubts that my soulmark was right and that Rin or Anko were just messing with me but they _were_ right and-” Kakashi hugged back.

He thought Obito would hate him.

He _didn’t._

 

Anko, for unknown reasons, began cackling, scaring away the other customers. “Finally,” she cheered, “They did it!”

 

A month later, Kakashi showed Obito a pen. “Give me your arm.” Obito had blinked, confused, and given it to him; watching as Kakashi popped off the top and began writing on his wrist, where his soulmark used to be. Once Kakashi had stopped, he scanned it before smiling and letting Obito look.

“Don’t be late this time,” His soulmate had written over the scars, “We have a mission.”

Obito promptly burst into tears.

 

Another month later and Kakashi had started showering him in even more gifts than before. They ranged from the expensive to the little things, things that he knew interested him. Obito idly wondered if he was making up for missed birthday presents. Well, at least Obito knew what he was going to do in a few months time.

 

A year later, Rin introduced them to her soulmate.

She had laughed discretely as her team stared at Gai, faces drained of color. “Y-you’re not serious, right?” Obito had asked, watching the other kid suplex a boulder.

“Completely serious.” She chirped back. “He’s also going to be teaching me Taijutsu.”

“O-oh,” He said faintly. “ _Cool._ ”

 

Another year later would find Kakashi and Obito having their first (the accidental ones don’t count) kiss. Obito also got to see Kakashi’s face again, which was great.

 

One more year and Kakashi finally confessed his love to Obito, even though he knew he was far too late. His boyfriend just laughed and pressed their foreheads together. "I know, Bakashi," Obito had said, "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> If I missed any thing that I should have tagged, feel free to tell me!


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